Action
Dead Island Definitive Edition
Give it 3 hours
Gets good by 3h almost every game dips in hours 2–3
Reach the ending 33% of players who started
Started playing 45% of owners
Steam reviews 82% positive of 28,447
What the data shows
- In the first 2 hours almost 1 in 2 reviews are negative (42%); after 7h it's 1 in 7 (14%).
- 33% of players who start reach the ending.
- Most players drop off before “Hell in paradise” (Complete act 1): only 66% of starters get there.
- Only 44% of owners have even the first achievement — the rest barely played.
When it gets good
Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.
before it gets good opening up fully opened up
Based on all 28,650 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 298 reviews: 12.9h for positive, 10.6h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.
Where players quit
Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (44.5% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.
- Started playing 100%
- Hell in paradise Complete act 1. Most players quit here 66% −34
- No raccoons in here Complete act 2. 43% −23
- King of the jungle Complete act 3. 34% −9
- Banoi Redemption Complete act 4. 33% −1
story milestone ending biggest drop-off
Story milestones were labeled by AI from achievement names and descriptions; mistakes are possible.
All achievements (57)
story milestone ending side
- Warranty Void if Used Create a customized weapon. 100%
- A taste of everything Kill a zombie with 10 different melee weapons. 98%
- Knock, knock Breach a locked door with the first blow. 98%
- Learning the ropes Reach level 10. 95%
- How many days exactly? Play Dead Island - Definitive Edition at least 28 days after starting it for the first time. 83%
- Together in the light Complete 5 quests in a single co-op game with the same partners. 81%
- Need a hand? Join another player's game. 78%
- Cardio Travel a distance of 20 kilometers on foot. 76%
- Karma-geddon Kill 50 zombies using a vehicle. 73%
- Steam Punk Create weapons to rival the gods of fire or thunder. 68%
- Hell in paradise Complete act 1. 66%
- Road Trip Drive a total distance of 10 kilometers. 60%
- Tis but a flesh wound! Sever 100 limbs. 58%
- Dedicated student Reach level 25. 57%
- Savior Save 5 people besieged by zombies. 52%
- Humanitarian Kill 50 human enemies. 50%
- Hack & slash Kill 250 zombies using edged melee weapons. 49%
- Going steady Complete 25 quests while playing with at least one co-op partner. 48%
- Gotta find'em all Find 60 collectibles. 46%
- No raccoons in here Complete act 2. 43%
- Busy, busy, busy Finish 75 quests cumulatively. 41%
- A very special day Kill 250 zombies with modified weapons. 36%
- To put it bluntly Kill 250 zombies using blunt melee weapons. 35%
- King of the jungle Complete act 3. 34%
- Banoi Redemption Complete act 4. 33%
- One is all I need Kill 5 Infected in a row with a single blow. 30%
- First! Kill a Suicider with a grenade. 24%
- I want one of those Customize 25 weapons. 23%
- Tae Kwon Leap Kill 25 zombies with your bare fists. 21%
- Nearly there Find 120 collectibles. 20%
- Catch! Kill an Infected with a grenade blast. 17%
- Ménage à trois Complete 5 quests with 3 co-op partners. 15%
- Wave and Smile Play any Arena in co-op. 14%
- Guns don't kill but they help Kill 250 zombies using firearms. 14%
- Originality Play in a co-op team of 4 different playable characters. 13%
- Rageman Kill 100 enemies with Fury attacks. 13%
- Gesundheit! Heal yourself with a medkit 100 times. 12%
- Rootin' Tootin' Lootin' Loot 5 Exceptional Weapons. 12%
- Ah! Spoiled meat! Kill a Butcher using an axe. 11%
- School of hard knocks Reach level 50. 11%
- Extreme Firefighting Set 5 enemies on fire and then kill them with explosives. 11%
- Can't touch this Use a hammer to kill a series of 15 zombies without taking damage. 10%
- Everybody lies Use a large medkit to heal an injury of 5% or less. 6.1%
- Light my fire Set 10 zombies on fire simultaneously. 5.8%
- There and back again Explore the entire island. 5.6%
- 10 heads are better than 1 Kill 10 zombies in a row with headshots. 4.9%
- Out of honey? Chew bees! Survive 5 waves using only your fists and legs. 4.9%
- Death Incarnate Survive wave 30. 4.9%
- Morituri te salutant Survive 30 consecutive waves with at least one co-op player. 4.5%
- Looking for trouble Survive 5 waves in each of the 4 Arenas. 4.3%
- Oh, no you don't Kill a Ram using tackle skill. 4.0%
- Complete a set During a single round kill an Infected, Suicider, Ram, Butcher, Floater, Walker. 3.8%
- Fancy Survive 10 consecutive waves using only custom weapons. 3.8%
- Right 4 Life Complete act 1 with 4 different characters. 3.6%
- People Person Play with 10 different co-op partners for at least 15 minutes each. 3.6%
- Stick it to the enemy Survive 15 consecutive waves using the analog combat controls. 3.4%
- Gladiator school Survive 15 consecutive waves with each of the 4 characters. 3.4%
Steam page Updated: 2026-10-18.